Welcome to Bolivia

Adventure

Bolivia is not for the faint of heart: rattling down the World’s Most Dangerous Road into sultry Yungas; soaring breathless above verdant La Paz valleys in a paraglider; pulling a catfish that outweighs you out of an Amazon river (and maybe cooking it for dinner!). Whether your tools are crampons and ice-axe for scaling 6000m Andean peaks or a helmet and bravado for jumping into the abyss on a glider, Bolivia’s rocks, rivers, and ravines will challenge – nay, provoke – you into pushing your own personal limits.

Culture

Bolivians love a parade, and hardly a month passes without a procession of brightly costumed celebrants honoring an important historical date or deity. You’ll hear them from blocks away before the brass bands and whirligigging dancers approach and then envelop you (you may even get to join in). Amateur archaeologists can delve into a rich, multilayered treasure trove of artefacts – Bolivia has South America’s largest percentage of indigenous people, so the culture is still alive and well on the streets, too. Get to know them better by participating in community-based tourism and hiring local guides when you can.

Nature

Bolivia is so new to scientific endeavor that unique species are being discovered to this day. Tiptoe into caves of tube-lipped nectar bats, their 3in tongues probing the darkness. Tread lightly on the terrain of the poisonous annellated coral snake, deadly in look and effect. Listen for the cackling call-and-response of a dozen different macaw species (among the 1000 bird species) including the world’s rarest, the bluebeard, which only lives here. Multihued, brilliant butterflies and moths flit at your feet in the jungle; lithe alpacas and vicuñas stand out in the stark altiplano.

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